DanWalt Gardens receive botanical accreditation

Billings, Montana – The DanMart Garden has been a fixture in Billings for close to three decades, and now that it has been granted botanical garden status, a wider variety of international plants will be on exhibit for visitors to view.

Gardens cover about two acres and provide a variety of continuously changing greenery. In the middle of the Magic City, the gardens have statues, water features, and even roaming chickens.

Since Clint Lunde and his wife bought the garden in 2017, they have put a lot of effort into not only keeping it up but also renovating and improving it.

Clint says, “There’s not a lot of gardens like this this is a one-of-a-kind garden in all of Montana, it’s set up for aesthetic purposes, and the line of sight throughout the gardens is really unmatched in Montana as you can see. It’s a very relaxing place to bring your mom or your wife.”

The Lunde family is pleased to share the news that they have been granted botanical garden certification by the American Public Gardens Association.

Making it one of the states of Montana’s only official botanical gardens.

Clint explained the process “to become a botanical garden you have to be open to the public for one thing, you have to have at least one professional staff member, you have to have a certain educational aspect to the gardens and we do kids tours throughout the summer, you have to have plant labels, and we are going continuing labelling plants throughout the summer and you also have to have plant records so that’s what we’ve been working towards the last few years and we just achieved that.”

Although the DanWalt Gardens may not appear like other botanical gardens you’ve visited, Clint explains that the area still has a lot to offer and see.

Clint says “there’s a lot of the exotic plants that won’t work in Montana obviously because of the zoning but we do have a few things here one of them is a kiwi plant. It’s a hardy kiwi that can grow in zone four and we are hoping we get some fruits soon, but we have a few other things you just have to stroll through the gardens and look at the plant labels, and it can take up to an hour, hour and a half to walk through the gardens, but it’s worth it.”

The DanWalt Gardens will open for the season on May 14; the event will include live entertainment, cuisine, and, of course, the garden’s newest residents, celebrating Mother’s Day.

On Mother’s Day, the Gardens will be open from 11 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, so you may also visit the tulips.